Tuesday, March 23, 2010

As I reported here, almost 20 of Cleveland's premier Chefs and their crews contributed to Monday night's gathering at the Cleveland Sight Center, to raise funds on behalf of Cleveland-area Chef Jeff Jarrett, and his wife Tammy. The Jarretts are hoping to adopt a second special-needs child from China, named Jewel. We were privileged to join this effort, and I've got some fun food photos to share. If you enjoy looking at these photos, or if the story has moved you, I hope you will consider visiting the event website and making a donation to help defray the hefty cost the Jarretts must incur to finalize the adoption and being Jewel home. Every little bit helps!

The facility's cafeteria was transformed into a sea of red tablecloths (red being an auspicious color) and cheerful Chinese decorations. A nearby room had some seating, which enabled my intrepid fellow food blogger Tom and I to take plate shots without elbowing anyone in the serving room. Along one wall of the cafeteria were tables with silent raffle items, all donated by generous supporters (most from the food community). Chinese music wafted through the air, provided by Jay Xiao and David Badagnani of the Cleveland Chinese Music Ensemble.

I began with a lovely beverage, prepared by the culinary students from Cuyahoga Community College's Culinary Arts program, who assisted the chefs all evening also.

Chef Wendy was unable to join us in person, but her assistant shared this amazing display of cupcakery.

Usually, at this type of grazing event, I overdo the savories and have no desire for the sweets (or, the sweets are gone by the time I decide to consider them). Not this time! Strategically located at the first serving station, I decided to take a cupcake and not wait for later. As Wendy's assistant explained the many different types, I said "sold" and selected the one on the right when she mentioned "salt" and "caramel" in the same sentence. However, when she said the one on the left had a caramel-based center, and was their signature - well, I had to try one of those, too.

Both cupcakes were wonderful - even though I'm not a big sweets eater, I can certainly understand why Cookie and A Cupcake gets so much wonderful buzz! After eating these, I had a little buzz on too!

Tomato Bruschetta

Red Pepper Bruschetta

These two tasty treats were offered by Chef Eric Wells of SkyeLarae’s Culinary Services. I especially liked the pepper version, but they were both delicious!

Chef Jeff's associate presented this very satisfying sweet -described as a riff on a Tootsie Roll with a touch of Alinea. Worked for me!

The next table offered two items from the kitchen of Chef Jonathon Sawyer at Greenhouse Tavern:

Vichyssoise (Cold Potato-Leek Soup)

Bacon Arancini (Rice Balls)

These paired very well together.

Chocolate Ravioli filled with Foie Gras, Strawberry, Pepper, Onion

This dish was a collaboration between Jeremy Kisy of KJ Greens and Chef Adam Bostwick of Melange. A, you should pardon the expression, melange of sweet and savory flavors and concepts - this was a lovely couple of bites. Sorry the photos of the filling didn't come out well enough to post.

Perfection. One of my top three of the evening. Just enough spice, soft yet toothy bread and pork. Chef Matt says that you can get a full-size version of this sandwich for $5 at Light's Happy Hour. Can't beat that - I want one!

Loved this dessert! Fresh apples, crunchy topping and my favorite sweet - fresh caramel! But Lucky's was not only represented by a dessert - Chef Ky-Wai Wong also appeared and whipped up a fabulous mac & cheese:

Mise en Place

This bowlful of cheesy, creamy goodness also made my top three.

This intriguing bite came from none other than our host, Chef Jeffrey Jarrett, Executive Chef at North End Wine Bar. A savory disguised as a sweet - this cake had beets as part of its body, and a savory topping that only looked like icing. Clever and delicious!

It seems that no matter what the cause or who the organizer, Chef Brian Doyle is always there with fun food to play with, and this evening was no exception. This was a refreshing salad, bursting with flavors and texture.

I was sure that this was a spicy beef - but someone told me right before I left that it was Jerked Pork - all I know is that it was delicious and one of my top three! Though my first bite of the bread said "never use toast on a buffet because it will get hard" - that first thought was soooo wrong - the liquid from the meat seaped into the toast and made something so much greater than either part - I loved it!

Leave it to Chef Dante Boccuzzi to find a way to work Chinese spoons into this event!

Perched atop a lip-smacking tomato jam was a spheroid that was solid mozzarella on the outside, and liquid on the inside. Eaten in one bite - it exploded with creamy flavor in the mouth.

Each guest was asked to vote for a favorite item - which I had a very hard time deciding upon. And, if I included the sweets (which I never do, because I'm not a big dessert person), I'd have had an even harder time choosing - it was all so good! Still - because they asked - someone had to "win" (though the extended Jarrett family was the real winner). Jeff advises that the top three dishes, as voted by the guests, were:

1. Ky-Wai Wong, Mac & Cheese

2. Matt Mathlage, Pork Belly Sandwich

3. Matt Baber, Jerked Pork

Great minds must think alike, because those were my top three (though not in that exact order).

And so, another evening of Fun Playing With Food came to an end amid wonderful company, tasty eats, and the warm glow of helping a truly good and worthy cause.

About Me

As a kid, I ignored the kitchen because I always had a book to read. After going to college and law school, I was finally on my own, just as my mom became severely afflicted with Multiple Sclerosis. The fear of losing her matzoh balls and gefilte fish compelled me to take my first tentative steps into the kitchen. Then, a viewing of Juzo Itami's food-and-sex, noodle-Western masterpiece "Tampopo" and a few Chinese cooking classes from the local university adult school cemented my immersion into the world of food and drink. Together, my husband Bob and I cook, eat and travel (he does the vegetable gardening on his own, but that's another blog). We occasionally cater for large groups (75-1900 people is the range so far). We love playing with food at all of its many levels, and my blog helps us to share my credo that "Life is Too Short to Not Play with Your Food." So follow my blog and have fun playing with our food!